Photoshop Upgrade

[jbylake]

I am now doing film, almost exlusively. I scan the neg's to digital. I had been using GIMP, because honestly, I don't do that much PP. I was sort of "talked into" trying PS Elements. I play with it quite a bit, just to see what this or that does.

My daughter is now in Grad School, and can get me a full copy of PS really cheap. Even though the price is right, I'd consider it money wasted if it was so complex, or "digital-centric" (is that a word?) that I'd never use the additional features.

My dilemma is this. I really don't know what else is included in the full version. Are there really enough extra features to satisfy the hobbyist, or are all the extra's aimed at the Pro Shooter/Graphics Artist.

Can someone chime in with any thoughts on this? Oh, I forgot to mention, that although I do shoot alot of color, my main interest is in B&W.

Any educational responses would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

J.:mrgreen:

 

[UUilliam]

The full edition (Elements VS Photoshop i assume))
Offers better Algorithms meaning better quality, faster, more tools and also hogs a larger hard drive chunk
tne full version is better than elements however I prefer the elements UI
The learning curve is a steep curve, but I am making tutorials aimed to photographers very soon (probably be released weekly or batch release in about 6months... currently un-decided)
so that may help you out (if you keep an eye out for my signature changing, I will link to them in that.)

 

[rufus5150]

My daughter is now in Grad School, and can get me a full copy of PS really cheap.

Just throwing this out to let you decide your ethical stance: Educational licenses are non-transferable. (As of CS3, I haven't seen the CS4 license but I can't imagine it would be any different in that regard.)

 

[[Dillz]]

You would be a fool not to get photoshop.(dont buy elements)
If you feel PS is too much to grab onto then buy LightRoom. its much like photoshop but more user friendly. I have both programs and use them both depending on how fast I need to go and how much detail I want control of.

 

[UUilliam]

I am pretty sure using a student license when you aren't a student is illegal?
Just download the 30 day trial, when it expires, download it again (with the same email adress) sure you get a popup once everytime you open it asking to activate, but thats no biggie
it is 100% free full photoshop!

 

[Dwig]

I am pretty sure using a student license when you aren't a student is illegal?...

True. It would be legal for the OP's daughter to use but not the OP.

As to the OP's question about the possible advantage of using PS/CS4 over GIMP or PS/Elements: Yes, PS/CS4 is very "digital-centric", but scanned images are by their very nature "very digital".

The big advantage of PS/CS4 for scanned images is that it offers more functionality when working with 16bit images than PS/E (I'm not familiar with GIMP to make a comparison statement). You can't do top quality work when scanning film without doing 16bit scans, especially when working with B&W negative. You want to do all of your editing, or at least as much as possible, in 16bit mode and downsample to 8bit only for printing.

 

[KmH]

My daughter is now in Grad School, and can get me a full copy of PS really cheap.

Just throwing this out to let you decide your ethical stance: Educational licenses are non-transferable. (As of CS3, I haven't seen the CS4 license but I can't imagine it would be any different in that regard.)

I think they changed their prohibition on commercial use. Commercial use of Student Editions are now permitted in North America only.

It does say right on the box of my CS4 Extended Student Edition "For higher education student use only...... You cannot use this product without proof of eligibility."

 

[rufus5150]

My daughter is now in Grad School, and can get me a full copy of PS really cheap.

Just throwing this out to let you decide your ethical stance: Educational licenses are non-transferable. (As of CS3, I haven't seen the CS4 license but I can't imagine it would be any different in that regard.)

I think they changed their prohibition on commercial use. Commercial use of Student Editions are now permitted in North America only.

Yes, you can use CS4 to produce salable works, but you can't transfer the license (I made no statement on the commercial-use properties of the license ).

 

[Jas23]

It does say right on the box of my CS4 Extended Student Edition "For higher education student use only...... You cannot use this product without proof of eligibility."

Also true - but one thing to remember is that the license does not expire upon graduation. So yes, you do have to be a current student at the time of purchasing one of Adobe's Student Editions -- but students can continue to use the software after graduating.

But as rufus brings up, the license can't be transferred as that would violate the EULA. It stays with the original student who bought it while in school.

 

[Adolph]

hi.........I think if you have a previous version of photoshop then you can get the upgrade if you have never had photoshop or its not on your computer get the full version